Refrigerator and sealing gasket therefor

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator includes a refrigerator body; a refrigerator door coupled to the refrigerator body so as to be opened and closed; and a gasket mounted on either the door or the body. The gasket has a magnet therein so as to hold the door closed against the refrigerator body. The gasket has at least one shielding portion that extends from an edge of the gasket. The sealing portion is configured to be elastically deformed when the refrigerator door is closed, which enhances the sealing action of the gasket. As a result, even if the magnet has a weak magnetic force due to age or the sealing surface is no longer flat, a sealing force is reinforced by the shielding portion. Accordingly, cool air inside the refrigerator is prevented from leaking out, and external warm air is prevented from being introduced into the refrigerator.

The present application claims priority to Korean Application No.10-2006-0025006, filed on Mar. 17, 2006, which is herein expresslyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly,to a sealing gasket for a refrigerator capable of preventing cool airfrom leaking from the refrigerator and/or preventing warm air fromentering the refrigerator.

2. Background

Generally, a refrigerator generates cool air via a refrigerating cycleperformed by a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, anevaporator, etc. The cool air is introduced into the refrigerator sothat food can be stored therein in a cool state or a frozen state. Inorder to improve the efficiency of the refrigerator, leakage of the coolair from the refrigerator or introduction of external warm air into therefrigerator has to be effectively prevented.

To this end, a gasket is typically installed at contact surfaces betweena refrigerator body and a refrigerator door. An outer surface of thegasket is typically formed of a synthetic material having an elasticcharacteristic, and a magnet is installed in the gasket. When therefrigerator door is closed, the magnet in the gasket is attracted to afront surface plate of the refrigerator body to keep the door closed,and to seal off the inside of the refrigerator. When the refrigeratordoor is pulled open, the magnet is detached from the front surface plateof the refrigerator body.

However, the prior art sealing apparatus for a refrigerator has thefollowing problems. When the magnet inside of the gasket, or the frontsurface plate of the refrigerator body are not flat, or when a magneticforce of the magnet becomes weak, cool air can leak from therefrigerator body or external warm air may be introduced into therefrigerator body. As a result, power consumption is increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a two-door type refrigerator to which asealing gasket is applied;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line ‘I-I’ in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view showing a gasket of a two-doortype refrigerator; and

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view showing another embodiment of agasket for a two-door type refrigerator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a refrigerator body 10 having a cooling chamber 12and a freezing chamber 13 installed at right and left sides of apartition wall 11. Two refrigerator doors 20 are rotatably installed atsides of the refrigerator body 10, for independently opening and closingthe cooling chamber 12 and the freezing chamber 13 of the refrigeratorbody. A plurality of gaskets 30 are fixedly coupled to the refrigeratordoors 20. Edges of the doors 20 are designed to contact the partitionwall 11 of the refrigerator body 10 to seal off the cooling chamber 12and the freezing chamber 13.

A front surface plate 14, formed of metal, is installed at a frontsurface of the partition wall 11 of the refrigerator body 10. A magnet36 is mounted inside the gasket 30, and the magnet 36 is attracted tothe front surface plate 14. The magnetic attraction between the magnet36 and the front surface plate 14 helps to keep the door shut, and helpsto ensure that a good seal is made around the peripheral surface of thedoor. A thermal line 15 for preventing the formation of condensedmoisture is installed at a rear surface of the front surface plate.Preferably, an outer surface of the front surface plate 14 is even andflat so that the magnet 36 of the gasket 30 can ensure a good sealbetween the gasket 30 and the front surface plate.

A gasket fixing groove 22 for insertion-fixing a coupling portion 31 ofthe gasket 30 is formed at an inner case 21 of the refrigerator door 20.The gasket 30 comprises a coupling portion 31 which is inserted into theinner case 21 of the refrigerator door 20. A connecting portion 32integrally extends from the coupling portion 31 so as to be foldable. Anadhering portion 33 integrally extends from the connecting portion 32and is detachably mounted at the front surface plate 14 of therefrigerator body 10 due to the magnetic attraction between the magnet36 and the front surface plate 14. A first shielding portion 34 a and asecond shielding portion 34 b respectively protrude from opposite sidesof the adhering portion 33. The ends of the first and second shieldingportions extend upwards from the adhering portion 33. The first andsecond shielding portions also help to ensure a good seal.

The coupling portion 31 has an anchor shape so as to beinsertion-coupled to the gasket fixing groove 22 of the refrigeratordoor 20. The connecting portion 32 is divided into a plurality ofpartitions by walls 35 so as to form an inner space.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, because the first shielding portion 34 a andthe second shielding portion 34 b protrude upwards from the outersurface of the adhering portion 33 of the gasket 30, as the door isclosed, the shielding portions contact the refrigerator body 10 beforethan the adhering portion 33. In addition, and as also shown in FIG. 3,the first and second shielding portions are tapered. The first shieldingportion 34 a is formed at an inner edge of the adhering portion 33 andcontacts the inner case 16 of the refrigerator body 10, therebypreventing cool air inside the cooling chamber 12 or the freezingchamber 13 from leaking out. The second shielding portion 34 b is formedat an outer edge of the adhering portion 33 and contacts the frontsurface plate 14, thereby preventing external warm air from beingintroduced into the refrigerator.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first and second sealingportions are substantially straight. As the door is closed, the firstand second sealing portions are elastically deformed until they assumethe shape shown in FIG. 2. This elastic deformation of the sealingportions helps hold the sealing portions firmly against the refrigeratorbody to ensure a good seal.

As shown in FIG. 4, in an alternate embodiment, the first shieldingportion 34 a and the second shielding portion 34 b may have curvedsurfaces that also extend upward from the adhering portion 33. Hereagain, when the refrigerator door 20 is closed, the shielding portionsare elastically deformed to hold the sealing portions firmly against therefrigerator body.

The operation and effects of the sealing apparatus for a refrigeratoraccording to the present invention will be explained as follows.

When a user closes the refrigerator door 20, the adhering portion 33 ofthe gasket 30 coupled to the refrigerator door 20 is adhered to thefront surface plate 14 of the refrigerator body 10 due to the magneticattraction between the magnet 36 in the gasket and the front sealingplate on the refrigerator body. Accordingly, cool air inside therefrigerator is prevented from leaking out, and/or external warm air isprevented from being introduced into the refrigerator.

The first shielding portion 34 a and the second shielding areprotrudingly-formed at opposite sides of the adhering portion 33 of thegasket 30. When the refrigerator door 20 is closed, the first shieldingportion 34 a and the second shielding portion 34 b contact the innercase 16 and the front surface plate 14 of the refrigerator body 10,respectively, before the adhering portion 33. Then, as the magnet pullsthe adhering portion 33 against the front surface plate, the firstshielding portion 34 a and the second shielding portion 34 b areelastically deformed, thereby enhancing a sealing force for the gasket30. The first shielding portion 34 a and the second shielding portion 34b are tapered and are formed to have a curved surface or an inclinedsurface in a closing direction of the refrigerator door 20. Thesefeatures ensure that when the refrigerator door 20 is closed, the firstshielding portion 34 a and the second shielding portion 34 b areelastically deformed, thus intensively adhering to the sealing surfacesof the refrigerator body.

Accordingly, even when the magnet of the gasket has a weak magneticforce due to aging, or when the sealing surfaces are no longer flat, asealing force is reinforced by the shielding portions. Accordingly, coolair inside the refrigerator is prevented from leaking out, and externalheated air is prevented from being introduced into the refrigerator.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the gasket was installed on therefrigerator door. However, the gasket can be installed on therefrigerator body. When the gasket is installed on the refrigeratorbody, the construction and effect are same as those of theaforementioned embodiment.

Also, although the above description focuses on a refrigerator/freezerhaving a cooling chamber and a freezing chamber located side-by-side,the sealing gaskets disclosed in the application are equally applicableto other types of refrigerator/freezers. Likewise, the gaskets disclosedin this application could be used on just a refrigerator, or just afreezer.

Further, in the above-described embodiments, shielding portions extendedfrom opposite sides of the adhering portion of the gasket. However, inalternate embodiments, only a single shielding portion may extend fromonly a single side of the adhering portion. Likewise, a plurality ofshielding portions may extend from one or both sides of the adheringportion.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, itshould also be understood that the above-described embodiments are notlimited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unlessotherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within itsspirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore allchanges and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of theclaims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intendedto be embraced by the appended claims.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although a number of illustrative embodiments have been described, itshould be understood that numerous other modifications and embodimentscan be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within thespirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. Moreparticularly, multiple variations and modifications are possible in thecomponent parts and/or arrangements, and these variations andmodifications still fall within the scope of the disclosure, thedrawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations andmodifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternativeuses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.

1. A refrigerator, comprising: a refrigerator body; a refrigerator doorcoupled to the refrigerator body so as to be opened and closed; and agasket mounted on one of the refrigerator body and the refrigeratordoor, and configured to form a seal with the other of the refrigeratorbody and the refrigerator door, wherein a shielding portion of thegasket is configured to be elastically deformed when the refrigeratordoor is closed, and wherein the elastic deformation of the shieldingportion enhances the seal between the refrigerator body and therefrigerator door.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gasket isprovided with a magnet therein.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theshielding portion comprises first and second shielding portions whichare respectively formed at opposite sides of the gasket.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 3, wherein the first and second shielding portionsare configured to be deformed in opposite directions to each other whenthe refrigerator door is closed.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein athickness of the shielding portion tapers and becomes thinner as itextends away from the center of the gasket.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the shielding portion is configured to have a curved surface oran inclined surface in a closing direction of the refrigerator door. 7.The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the shielding portion extends upwardaway from an adhering portion of the gasket such that as therefrigerator door is closed, the shielding portion contacts acorresponding sealing surface before the adhering portion does.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the gasket includes a coupling portionhaving an anchor shape that protrudes from one side of the gasket. 9.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein a gasket fixing groove is formed inone of the refrigerator body and the refrigerator door, and wherein thecoupling portion of the gasket is inserted into the gasket fixing groove10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gasket is provided with aplurality of foldable partition walls therein.
 11. A sealing gasket fora refrigerator and/or freezer, comprising: a gasket body which isconfigured to be mounted on one of a refrigerator body and arefrigerator door, and which is configured to form a seal with the otherof the refrigerator body and the refrigerator door; a magnet mounted inthe gasket body adjacent an adhering portion of the gasket body; and ashielding portion that extends from a side of the adhering portion,wherein the at least one shielding portion is configured to beelastically deformed when the gasket forms a seal between therefrigerator body and refrigerator door as the refrigerator door isclosed.
 12. The sealing gasket of claim 11, wherein the shieldingportion extends upward from the adhering portion, and wherein theelastic deformation of the shielding portion helps to form a good sealbetween the refrigerator door and the refrigerator body.
 13. The sealinggasket of claim 12, wherein the shielding portion is configured toextend upward from the adhering portion such that the shielding portionwill make contact with a sealing surface before the adhering portion.14. The sealing gasket of claim 12, wherein the shielding portion has acurved shape.
 15. The sealing gasket of claim 12, wherein the shieldingportion is inclined relative to the adhering portion of the gasket body.16. The sealing gasket of claim 11, wherein the shielding portioncomprises first and second shielding portions that are formed onopposite sides of the adhering portion.
 17. The sealing gasket of claim16, wherein the first and second shielding portions are configured to bedeformed in opposite directions to each other when the refrigerator dooris closed.
 18. The sealing gasket of claim 11, wherein the gasket bodyfurther comprises: a coupling portion configured to be inserted into afixing groove on one of a refrigerator body or a refrigerator door; anda connecting portion integrally extending from the coupling portion soas to be foldable.
 19. The sealing gasket of claim 18, wherein thecoupling portion is anchor shaped.
 20. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein a thickness of the shielding portion becomes thinner as itextends away from the adhering portion of the gasket body.